Katoomba is the chief town of the City of the Blue Mountains in New South Wales, Australia and is its administrative headquarters. Possibly some of the towns of the lower mountains are now larger in population.

Katoomba's main industry is tourism based on spectacular mountain scenery. A rock formation called the Three Sisters is the most famous feature. Also famous are the Katoomba Scenic Railway (originally built for extracting coal and oil shale from the Jamieson Valley), which is the steepest funicular railway in the world, and the "Scenic Skyway" which is a gondola-like multi-person cable-driven conveyance built across a valley. As of September, 2004 the original Scenic Skyway has been removed and is in the process of being replaced. The gullies and creeks around Katoomba are in many places filled with dense rainforests, and there are a series of spectacular waterfalls (albeit with a relatively low water volume) in the vicinity of the town.

Katoomba and nearby Medlow Bath were first developed as tourist destinations towards the end of the 19th Century. Lilianfels House, originally a private residence, but now the most exclusive hotel in the Blue Mountains, dates to this period. Tourism peaked in the first three decades of the 20th Century when a series of grand and ornate luxury hotels (notably "The Carrington" and the "Hydro Majestic") were built and then repeatedly extended.

There were also numerous guest houses. By the 1960s however Katoomba had declined and many of its guest houses were converted to convalescent hospitals. Some even succumbed to arson. Housing was cheap. In the 1980s however the guest houses and hotels again became fashionable and many were restored to their former glories. Housing became more expensive in keeping with the prices in Sydney.

Until recently the area's beautiful scenery and cheap housing attracted an alternative and eccentric subculture. Poets, artists, old hippies and eccentric characters are still numerous, and the town hosts a well-patronised midwinter festival featuring their talents. Local resident crypto-zoologist Rex Gilroy, known as the "Yowie Man", is famous for his belief in the "Yowie" or hairy man-like monster (similar to the Abominable Snowman or Susquatch) that is said to leave large footprints in the bush from time to time. Another local eccentric, the "Cat Man", is equally famous for promoting a one-man campaign against the decimation of native wildlife by feral cats. He wears a cap made of cat skin and has bought and fenced off areas of bushland in order to keep the cats out.

Eleanor Dark is a well-known historian who wrote "The Storm of Time". Her husband Dr Dark was a communist and was concerned about persecution in the 1950s. The Darks are reputed to have built a refuge in the Grose Valley to the north of Katoomba.

In addition to the economically challenged population, the area is home to many affluent people who have built or restored houses with magnificent views, especially in Leura, just to the east of Katoomba. The latter village's small shopping high street is particularly well-patronized on weekends by wealthy visitors from Sydney.

External link

• Community, Information & Tourism Website (http://www.katoomba-nsw.com)